Building Leaders through Karate

Filipino Japanese karateka talks about the sport – Manila Standard

Filipino-Japanese karateka Junna Tsukii has always wanted to help develop karate in the Philippines, so much so that despite being raised in Japan—the home of the said martial art—she joined the country’s national team last year.

“I chose to be a national player of the Philippines despite being brought up in Japan because I wanted to help the Philippines through what I have learned in Japan,” said Tsukii. She continued, “The environment and system of the Philippines are not yet developed compared to Japan and other advanced countries. But I still practice hard every day with the teammates to be able to participate in the Olympic Games.”Things are looking great for the 26-year-old karateka as she bagged a bronze medal at the recent 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. Tsukii won the Asiad bronze after beating Thailand’s Paweena Raksachart, 4-1, in the women’s 50kg bronze medal match. She was delighted with the win, albeit she admitted to wanting to take home the gold. Aside from regular practice and will to win Tsukii shared local coffee brand Kaffea helped power her way to the bronze medal.